True Crime Friday: Edmund Emil Kemper, the Co-ed Serial Killer
Edmund Emil Kemper III, was born on December 18, 1948. He is a convicted serial killer and is currently serving his term in a prison in the State of California. He murdered ten people mostly women and girls during his reign of terror. This could have been avoided if Kemper had not been released back into society after killing his paternal grandparents at the age of fifteen. He became known as the Co-Ed killer since the majority of his victims were female college students. He decapitated, dismembered and performed necrophila on their corpse. During the seventies it was not uncommon for people to hitchhike, which meant getting into cars with strangers for rides to different locations sometimes even around the country. Needless to say, these were ripe times for serial killers.
The Early Childhood of Edmund Kemper
Ed Kemper was the only son of Clarnell Elizabeth Kemper and Edmund Emil Kemper Jr. They also had two daughters. Edmund Jr., was a veteran of World War II. Clarnell was the head of a union, which was rare for a woman in the seventies. His mother was stern and expected the best from her spouse and children. His mother did not approve of her husband’s occupation as an electrician. Edmund Jr., stated that living with Clarnell was worst that having suicide missions and bombs lopped at him.Ed Kemper was a very tall and big child who grew up to be six foot and seven inches in height. And he weighted roughly over 200 pounds. He met some of the serial killer standard such as cruelty to animals and a lack of empathy. Kemper later stated that he derived pleasure from successfully lying to his family about killing the cat. As a child he would cut off the heads of his sister’s dolls. He was also known as a Peeping Tom. Kemper said his childhood was pure tortured as his mother abused him and encouraged his sister’s to do the same. Kemper’s older sister tried to push him in front of a train. Another time, she pushed him into the deep end of a swimming pool and Kemper almost drowned. His mother made him sleep in the basement with rats. He was so abused by his mother that he asked him father to live with him and his new wife.
His father came to get him but instead of taking Ed home to live with him, Ed’s father took him to live with his parents on their farm. He was given everything material on the farm including a gun. The grandparents took his rifle away when they notice he was killing large numbers of animals. One day Grandmother Kemper was sitting at the kitchen table when Ed shot her in the head. He then waited for Grandfather Kemper to return from the store and shot him dead. He called his mother and told her what he had done and she told him to call the police and turn himself in so he turned himself in to the police.
The Victims of Edmund Kemper
- Mary Ann Pesce
- Anita Luchessa
- Aiko Koo
- Cindy Schall
- Rosalind Thorpe
- Allison Liu
- Clarnell Elizabeth Kemper
- Sally Hallett
- Grandmother Kemper
- Grandfather Kemper
The Survivors of Edmund Kemper
- Anyone that did not come in contact with this monster and also his sisters.
Lady Justice
Ed or Big Ed as he was known had an Intelligence Quotient (IQ) of 160. He was able to fool medical professionals into thinking he had been cured of his anti-social behavior. In fact, he went to see his doctor with one of his victim’s body in the truck of his car. His mother who later went to work for UCLA had a parking sticker on the car in which Ed would use to pick up hitchhikers. The victims felt safe because of the fact he had a college sticker on his car. Also Ed hung out at a local tavern known as a place where the police hung out after work. He made friends with the police officers and was able to keep up with how they were trying to find the Co-Ed Serial Killer.After he killed his mother and her best friend, he fled to Colorado. With nothing left to gain or lose, he called the police in California to turn himself over to the authorities. The first time he called the police they did not believe him and hung up on him thinking it was a joke. He called back and asked to speak to policeman who was a friend of his and confessed to being the Co-Ed Serial Killer. Before this revelation, the police loved Big Ed and thought he was a great guy. Kemper was featured in the Mindhunter Series. Edmund Emil Kemper is currently serving his term in a prison in the State of California. He was up for parole in 2024 and it was denied. He will more than likely died in prison.